The third period was 11 seconds old when Devan Dubnyk was forced to turn and fish another puck out of his net, this the third of five times he was beaten in a loss Tuesday, but the most deflating of all of them.

The Wild entered the final period of a game with massive playoff implications down a goal on the home ice that’s been so friendly to them this season. They seemed ready to make a push at important points with a chance to expand their lead on the wild-card teams beneath them.

“We were all excited and ready to come out,” coach Bruce Boudreau said.

And then Nathan MacKinnon won the opening draw against Mikko Koivu and got the puck right back with only the Wild captain near him. He beat Koivu to the outside and then beat Dubnyk between the legs, MacKinnon’s 33rd goal in 61 games of an MVP-caliber season.

Technically, it wasn’t the game-winner for the Avalanche who yet again dispatched the Wild, this time with a 5-1 win at Xcel Energy...